Project 2: Social action posters

Due: 3/11 at 11:59pm

Overview

Use your illustrations and topic from the previous project to create a series of two to four print-ready, 11×17 posters raising awareness of a social problem. The poster is a special genre in graphic design, one that is suited especially well for advocacy work. Elizabeth Resnick calls posters a “medium for social change” and Pierre Bernard argues that “The poster is the prime field for experimenting with the visual language; it is the scene of changing ideas and aesthetics, of cultural, social and political events.” In following, you should envision your posters as participants in a conversation or debate, and as public works that might appear on city transportation, in government buildings, or in well-traveled areas such as bus stops.

As with your magazine illustrations in the previous project, the posters should look like they are part of a series. Use a coherent color palette and aesthetic to unify the posters so that if someone sees one on a SEPTA train in the morning and a different one that evening, he or she would know it’s the same artist and both posters speak to the same cause or set of related causes.

Content

You can use all or part of your magazine illustrations from the previous project. If you alter these illustrations or create new illustrations, please cite all images from other people with a new works cited page included in your project.

The copy (or text content) of the poster, at minimum, should include a website to the key organization where viewers can get more information or donate. The rest of the text (or lack of text) is up to you. You may incorporate phrases from your Project 2 magazine article, but be sure to cite direct quotes in small light-gray text at the bottom of the poster. You may also include text from studies and other articles, but please cite everything appropriately, as explained in the previous sentence.

All images should be high-resolution (300dpi) and appropriate for printing.

Purpose and audience

Working within this genre will require you to have a clear and intimate understanding of your audience, purpose, and context. Resnick says that “posters are dissent made visible—they communicate, advocate, instruct, celebrate, and warn, while jarring us to action with their bold messages and striking iconography.” These are just a few of the purposes your posters could fulfill.

Some possible purposes you can have for this project. Graphic adapted from the INSIDE OUT group action guide

Remember that a public audience is diverse, and you may not be able to target everyone. Be clear about who you are trying to reach with these posters. While unintended audiences may be interested, your work as a designer should center around one or two specific groups of people.

Some possible audiences you could target for this project

Process

I suggest following the process laid out in our textbook by Kristin Cullen:

  • project brief (know your purpose and audience)
  • research and information gathering (research the topic and look to examples for comparison)
  • brainstorming (mind maps, listing, rough sketches, inspiration boards)
  • conceptualization (find a solid idea that will unite the project and give it a theme or direction)
  • experimentation and development (color & typography studies,  work by hand, more advanced sketches to plan the composition)
    • this phase is due as your first draft in class on 2/20
  • execution

Requirements

A complete project includes the following

  • Two to four posters sized for printing on 11×17 paper (called “tabloid” or “ledger” paper) submitted to Canvas as high-quality PDF files and Adobe CC work files.
  • A 200-word project statement, written with a portfolio audience in mind (.pages files are not allowed) — see an example project statement here.
  • Submit your project statement PDFs and all Adobe CC work files to Canvas as a .zip file no later than 11:59pm on 3/1
  • All images included in the project should be high-resolution (300dpi) and appropriate for printing.
  • All images that are taken from or lightly adapted from another artist should be credited clearly.
  • One poster PDF file should have the word PRINT in the file name. I will print this one in color and bring it to class for display in week 8 unless you feel strongly you do not want any of your posters printed / displayed.

As mentioned above in the bullet above, I will print one of your posters for display in the classroom. FYI: The printer in Bronstein cannot do borderless printing and will leave about a .3 inch margin of white area around your printed poster. I have a paper cutter and can cut it down to simulate a full bleed. Normally a full bleed would be .125″ (or 1/8 inch) of extra space surrounding your document.